


G is for Gourmet

by MariaPriest



Series: Stargate Drabbles' Alphabet Challenge [7]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 22:45:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14725019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariaPriest/pseuds/MariaPriest
Summary: After events in "Cold Lazarus," Jack is concerned that his team is treating him as if he were nearing a breakdown.





	G is for Gourmet

**Author's Note:**

> Also a spoiler for "1969" in there somewhere.

Eggshell. Fragile and brittle.

Jack O’Neill’s team acted as if he were an eggshell, ever since he’d returned from taking the Unity back to his — its? — planet. 

But he wasn’t fragile or brittle. Yes, that whole experience left him both drained and filled. It was wildly fabulous and excruciatingly sad to see the real Sara and the Unity Charlie. But when the pros and cons were tallied in the end, peace won out over pain by a very small nose.

How could he get them past this? He paced the corridors of the SGC in an attempt to come up with an answer. The four of them were still finding their way around each other, well on their way to becoming a fully realized team, and now this. Bad enough that Daniel knew Jack had been responsible for his son’s death and suicidal when they met. Now so did Teal’c and Carter.

_Great way to build up trust in your team leader. Wonder when he’s gonna work up the gumption to do it and will he be taking us with him in that final blaze of gory glory?_

It was impossible to miss the sideways glances from Carter as they were checked out in the infirmary after the radiation exposure. He thought he was in more danger from the pity radiation she was emitting. That really galled him.

Teal’c was just as bad, but in a different, subtler way. The Jaffa was being overly solicitous and polite. A kinder, gentler Teal’c he didn’t need or want.

What could he do to bring them back to the road they needed to be on to make the team work and maybe even strengthen them? All without compromising his privacy or forcing him to have those types of conversations for which he was ill-suited.

Jack simply couldn’t have them worrying about him and his feelings and motives while they were fending off hostile Jaffa or natives. They had to watch each other’s backs, not just his.

The kernel of an idea hit him as he watched Sergeant Siler open a 5th Avenue bar as he left Daniel’s office.

He about-faced and headed for the cafeteria for milk and pie — two things that helped him grow ideas into plans for execution.

GGGG

“Sir, permission to build a small bonfire, really more of a campfire, on the mountain for _all_ of SG-1.”

George Hammond raised an eyebrow. “And what exactly is your team planning on doing, Colonel O’Neill?”

Jack explained his plan. “And no need for alarm, sir,” he concluded. “I checked, and it’s safe to build campfires. I’ll be sure to completely extinguish it when we’re done.” Jack kept his expression softly neutral.

Hammond studied the colonel’s inscrutable face and tapped his steepled fingers together while he considered the request. Letting Teal’c out into the world was a very big deal. He knew he could trust the alien, but the Joint Chiefs were another matter.

George chose not to ask O’Neill why he wanted to do this “thing” in particular; he figured he’d just get a load of BS anyway. And he trusted Jack as well. Decision made, he placed his hands on his desk. “Permission granted. Just let the main Security Force know. And stay within the complex, Colonel. I'm not giving Teal'c permission to go off-base.”

“Thank you, sir. You won’t regret this.” Jack gave his CO something that resembled a cross between a Boy Scout and a proper Air Force salute and dashed out of the office.

George shook his head. He wouldn’t regret this? He was starting to question an earlier decision he’d made: putting such an unorthodox officer in charge of the most unorthodox team of any sort this planet had ever had or probably would ever have.

He knew the team would work, though. It was the getting there that worried him.

“God help us all,” he muttered as he tried to get back to work.

GGGG

Before he’d left the mountain for the required supplies, O’Neill had told Carter, Teal’c, and Daniel that he was having an impromptu night training session topside and not to leave the complex. The only other thing he’d told them was to dress warmly and bring flashlights.

It was nearly 2200 when Jack grabbed his pack and shrugged into it. He double-timed it to the elevator so he wouldn’t be late.

He wasn’t, but he was still the last one to arrive. His team was dressed warmly and carried flashlights, just as he’d instructed. Daniel and Carter also wore questioning looks; Teal’c just frowned more deeply than usual.

“Hi, kids! Let’s up and out, shall we?”

“Sir, do you mind telling us what this is all about?”

“Indeed, Colonel O’Neill. You have piqued our curiosity.”

Jack chuckled. “Well, you’ll find out soon enough. Captain, get us to the surface.”

GGGG

The night was crisp and clear. Jack chose a section of the mountain where the lights from the complex and the trees wouldn’t interfere much with stargazing. It was perfect for what he had in mind.

“Okay, campers, your assignments,” Jack began, ignoring the curious and frustrated looks Daniel and Carter were sending his way. “Carter, gather enough wood for decent campfire. Teal’c, find four logs or rocks good for sitting on and bring ‘em back here. Daniel, get four sticks, about yea long” — he spread his arms out about 4 feet — “and don’t worry if they’re a little crooked.”

Standing there like statues, they stared at him.

“What? Waiting for the engraved invitations, are you?” Jack snarled impatiently.

“No, sir,” Carter came back immediately. Daniel shuffled around a little and Teal’c arched an eyebrow before all three left their team leader in the clearing, their flashlights slicing and bobbing through the darkness.

Jack snorted. He was enjoying this “exercise” a lot. And he needed this time in nature. In the great outdoors he could get his head straight, deal with the wrenching, heart-pounding madness of Sara and Unity Charlie. Hopefully this little jaunt would work its magic for his teammates as well.

He cleared out a shallow pit that had been used previously for a campfire. Fortunately, the rocks that had surrounded the pit’s perimeter were still close by. He proceeded to move them back into their intended positions. By then, Daniel had begun grousing about hunting for sticks in the dead of night, every so often punctuating his complaints with a sneeze. Jack snickered quietly. Even if nothing went as planned, at least he got a good laugh out of it.

GGGG

Quicker than he’d thought, Jack had a nice fire going. He and Teal’c placed the logs in a square around the fire. Daniel and Carter, squatting a few feet away from the activities around the fire, worked on trimming one end of the sticks to a rounded point and ridding them of several inches of bark at the colonel's request.

Daniel closed the Swiss Army knife Jack had loaned him and pronounced, “Okay, Jack, your sticks are ready. Are we going to learn to fence or throw a javelin?”

“Patience, Daniel, and leave the sarcasm to me. I’ve had lots more practice.” He cleared his throat. “Let’s set a spell, as my grandmother used to say.” Moments later, they were seated, Teal’c to Jack’s left, Daniel to his right, and Carter across from him.

Jack opened his pack. Out came a sturdy cardboard box about the size of a cigar box. He handed it to Daniel. “Pass this to Carter, please. And Carter, don’t open it yet.”

Daniel looked at Jack as if he were crazy. When he turned to Sam with a question in his eyes, she merely shrugged and took the box. By the time he turned back to Jack, there was another identical box waiting for him. When he took it, Jack held up a finger to signal he should wait. Daniel huffed with perturbed impatience.

“Here ya go, Teal’c,” Jack said as he offered the third box to the Jaffa.

Teal’c accepted the package with slight reluctance. He tested its weight and smelled it. Unable to come to any conclusions about the box’s contents, he scowled at his commander.

Jack ignored Teal’c. He picked up all of the prepared sticks and said, “Okay, Daniel, open your box.”

“Finally,” Daniel muttered. He opened it to find a nest of fragrant puffs of whiteness. “What is this?”

“It’s a bunch of marshmallows, Daniel! Whatdja think it was — lumps of snow?”

“Uh, no.”

“Now put two of ‘em on each stick. Try not to split ‘em, okay?”

Daniel carefully began his task while Jack held on to the sticks. “Carter, you’re up next.”

Sam, whose eyes had brightened as soon as she saw the contents of Daniel's box, looked in anticipation at O'Neill. “Colonel?”

He treated her to a sly smile. “Yes, Carter.”

She flung the top of her box off. As she gleefully ripped the wrapper off the first Hershey bar, Jack continued to watch Daniel’s progress and said, “Teal’c, go ahead and open yours.”

Teal’c did so. He peered inside it and sniffed at scored, dark tan, thin sheets. “By what name is this substance known, O’Neill?”

“Those are graham crackers, big guy. You eat ‘em. Tasty all by themselves, but when you put them together with roasted marshmallows and chocolate, they’re one-third of heaven on earth.”

Not convinced, Teal’c’s frown deepened. “You are certain this _cracker_ is edible?”

“Positive. You’re gonna love it. Trust me on this.”

Teal’c’s expression didn’t change. Daintily, he removed one and examined it closely. “Indeed,” he said with doubt and disgust.

Daniel finished sticking the last ‘mallow on the stick. “Oh, I get it! We’re making some kind of sandwich!”

Jack paused, suddenly aware that in Daniel’s case, he may have never done this before. “You’ve never even _heard_ of s’mores?” The question came out sharp — not exactly how he’d intended.

“’Some mores’ of what, O’Neill?” Teal’c interjected.

“In a sec, Teal’c,” he replied while keeping his eyes on the now-embarrassed archeologist. And Carter was averting her eyes. _Crap! You’re a freakin’ idiot, O’Neill. You’re supposed to be making everybody feel better, not worse._ “Sorry, Daniel. I thought you’d know about this. I mean, you must have had dozens of camp-outs doing all that rock-digging you did. So you never made s’mores?”

Daniel shook his head. “Chocolate doesn’t exactly travel well in the desert, Jack.”

“Point taken,” Jack said sheepishly. With a self-conscious gulp, he changed his tone to jovial. “Well, let’s get this started! Carter, Teal’c, put the crackers -”

“Yes, sir!” Carter interrupted, all too anxious to get the treats made. She showed Teal’c where to snap the crackers in half and asked him to do three more. While she unwrapped one more chocolate bar, she explained to her new alien friend how to stack the chocolate and the graham.

“Daniel,” Jack said, “how about we get started on roasting the ‘mallows?” He handed the newbie s’more-maker two of the marshmallow-skewered sticks. “It’s okay if they catch fire. Just shake ‘em till the flame’s out. Don’t let ‘em get too hot, though, or they’ll melt off the stick.”

Daniel nodded as he accepted the sticks. With one eye, he watched how Jack held his sticks and how close he let the marshmallows get to the flames. With the other, he watched Carter and Teal’c. Soon, Daniel’s mouth filled with saliva as it began to hunger for the treat.

Jack watched all of them. Watched as they settled into the task of working together for a common goal. Watched how they finally began relaxing around him, the eggshell slowly turning back into his customary armor.

GGGG

Teal’c’s ever-present frown completely disappeared as he tasted the campfire delicacy for the first time. Not only was the taste astonishing, but so were the textures, the differences in temperature, the sight of the oozing marshmallow and chocolate, and the scents of sweetness and earth.

With his first bite, Daniel closed his eyes so nothing he saw would interfere with the flavors and textures delighting his mouth. This sandwich was one of the most sensational things he’d ever eaten. From deep in his throat came a growl of pure pleasure.

Jack and Sam, old hats when it came to s’mores, found themselves enjoying the treat more than usual, but for different reasons. For Sam, it was seeing the thrill of discovery come from both Daniel and Teal’c.

For Jack, it was memories — old and new. Old memories of his family, especially Charlie. New memories of his new team taking another step in their growth. Maybe not just his new team, but his new family, as so many of his previous teams had become to some extent.

Teal’c was the first to finish and break the silence. As soon as he could talk, he said, “I believe I now understand the curious name of this most delectable sustenance.” He looked at his fellow warrior, who waited expectantly. “May I have some more, please, O’Neill?”

Jack was unresponsive for a split second while he tried to decide if Teal’c had made a joke or if he’d just, in his own way, told them the meaning of the “s’more.” “Sure, Teal’c, you can have more. I brought enough so we could have three a piece.” Jack knew he’d have a great time getting to know Teal’c and unmasking the quick, dry wit and high intelligence he knew was there, lurking beneath the surface of the stony alien.

Daniel said something, but no one could understand what through the mouthful of cracker, marshmallow, and chocolate. He grabbed a stick and stuck two marshmallows on it. He passed it to Teal’c over the fire between them and eagerly started preparing another stick. He reminded Jack of a kid given free rein in a candy store. Considering what he knew of Daniel’s childhood and young adult life, having free rein over anything was novel for him.

Carter, who had chuckled shyly at Teal’c’s request for another s’more, now grinned. “I’ll get the chocolate ready!” The gleam in her eyes told O’Neill that his second-in-command had a serious chocolate jones — just as he’d suspected.

As they roasted their marshmallows together, O’Neill sensed some remaining tension. He realized it was time to finally talk about the elephant in the middle of the proverbial room, the creature that had haunted all of them since he’d called Sara from the SGC. The death of his son, the specter of his failed marriage, and the devastating impact these events had on him.

He had no idea what to say, though. He was so inept at this type of stuff. So he took a deep breath and hoped something would come to him.

“You know ...” he said, then paused. Three sets of eyes centered on him. And from somewhere, the words they needed to hear and he needed to speak came to him. “In my family, this is a gourmet meal in a four-star restaurant.” He hoped they heard what he hadn’t said—that he was dealing well with what had happened and that the four of them were family now, too.

Silence stretched for a few heartbeats, while Teal’c, Daniel, and Sam considered what he’d said as they roasted the marshmallows. For Jack, the time crawled by. 

Until he noticed the tension had melted, just like the marshmallows on their sticks. Even the air felt warmer, as each one's personal space seemed to expand to include the others. Suddenly, his vision blurred and his throat tightened. _Am I going soft **and** sentimental in my old age or what._

Again it was Teal’c who spoke first. “What is ‘gourmet’? And ‘four-star restaurant’? I am not familiar with these terms.”

Jack, clearing his throat and rubbing his nose, looked to the team's linguist. “You're Mr. Encyclopedia, Daniel. Enlighten our Jaffa friend.”

Daniel laughed softly and gave Jack a crooked grin. He turned his gaze to Teal'c. “When 'gourmet' is used as an adjective, as Jack's used it, it means that the food or drink is high quality and prepared with great skill. Most people eat this kind of food at restaurants, which are places people go to eat and can be rated by stars. The more stars, the better the place. Four stars means the restaurant is excellent.”

Teal'c nodded slowly. “I understand, DanielJackson. Thank you for your succinct explanation.” After a moment, he cocked his head toward SG-1's leader. “I wish to partake of such a meal at one of those establishments as soon as possible, O'Neill,” he said quite seriously and with more than a hint of demanding urgency.

Sam, unable to contain herself, giggled at both Jack's expression of amused bewilderment and his delay in responding. Daniel was only slightly more successful at covering his laugh by coughing.

Finally, Jack said, “Whoa there, big guy. It's still a big deal letting you come topside. You will soon, I promise. In the meantime, we can do take-out.”

Teal'c furrowed his brow. “What is 'take-out'?”

Jack threw up his hands. “Enough! All this talk and not eating s'mores is bordering on sacrilege. Daniel, let's load up the sticks again, seeing as how the fire got the last round of 'mallows.”

Once they had the marshmallows roasting, Jack explained to Teal'c the concept of take-out and reassured him that the stars on General Hammond's uniform were indicative of rank, not a rating of “fair” or “average,” as the alien had asked.

GGGG

The members of SG-1, after polishing off three s'mores a piece, re-purposed their logs as headrests and stretched out into the cool night on the thin thermal blankets O’Neill had brought.

They lay in companionable quiet, gazing at the stars that sparkled brighter as the fire dimmed, listening to the life in the woods around them, each lost in their thoughts, unaware that they shared a number of them.

the end  
copyright 2011


End file.
